This document discusses content management in Windows Azure. It provides an overview of Kentico CMS and its capabilities. It then discusses what a content management system is and the expectations of CMS. Next, it explores what moving a CMS to the cloud means and some common questions around running a CMS in the cloud. It outlines three scenarios for using cloud with CMS: a pure cloud model, expansion model leveraging cloud for front/back end services, and using cloud for on-demand marketing activities. It also shares some customer lessons learned around using Azure.

1. Content Management in Windows
Azure
Thom Robbins, Chief Evangelist, Kentico CMS

2. Kentico CMS Today..
Kentico CMS is one of the
most comprehensive
content management
systems on the planet.
For Developers..
With over 12,000 active
web sites in 84 countries,
Delivered as a Visual Studio project
34 modules, and a partner
826,152 lines of code
network of over 1,200 it is
used for everything from
2,000 specifically for Azure
simple web sites to
complex applications.
Kentico CMS is easy to
install, simple to manage,
scalable and reliable.

3. What is a Content Management System (CMS)?
CMS is Your Website Expectations
Overloaded terms?
• CMS • First contact with
• WCM customers
• Content is cost
• DM Management • Gateway to changing
web experiences
• ??
IT
• Multithreaded, highly
scalable Web Farms
• development platform
• Immediate scale
up/out Content Editor
• Guaranteed storage
and retrieval
• Files, Files .. • Productivity!
everywhere • Freedom from IT
• Website Management
• Creative control

4. What does the cloud mean for your CMS?
Moving an application to the cloud
simply means running the app
“somewhere” on the internet other
than your own servers.
An industry perspective..
As content consumption patterns shift from traditional web pages to a more
multi-channel content ecosystem (mobile, website, tablets, widgets, game
consoles, kiosks, etc), the demand for highly scalable and near real-time CMS
will be needed. The movement to a real-time web will exponential increase
resource requirements of CMS solutions as they try to manage more content in
a shorter time frame.
Source: www.cmsoutlook.com

5. Why move CMS to the cloud?
It’s a business choice….
Agility
•The cloud model keeps your business more agile over the lifetime of your CMS
•Creating self service points reduces friction (IT no longer needs to specify, receive, install and configure each
instance)
•Automatic load leveling
•Quicker iteration cycles
Focus
•Deploying your CMS to the cloud let you focus on higher value activities
•Like having top tier developers who can differentiate applications
Cost
•Reducing cost through economies of scale (Not a people discussion)
•Cloud service providers offer focused expertise, standardized components, best practices and massive scalability at a
lower cost than a company can achieve
•Pay for what you use (no need to over-provision and sink capital into compute capacity)

6. Common CMS/Cloud questions
• The cloud has no file system?
• Isn’t developer debugging difficult?
• Isn’t performance poor?

7. Scenario – Pure Cloud
Site visitors
What is it?
• Complete application in the
cloud
Advantages
• Quickest for new CMS
• Consistent platform
Content Editors • Infrastructure reduction
(not people!)
Disadvantages
• Existing CMS migration
• It’s scary!

8. Scenario - Expansion
What is it?
• Leveraging cloud for Front
end/Back end services
Content Editors
Advantages
Site visitors • Maintain asset security
Corporate Firewall • Leverage existing assets
Disadvantages
• Infrastructure change

9. Scenario – On-Demand Marketing
Site visitors
What is it?
• Leveraging cloud for short
duration activities
Advantages
• Reduce on-site IT resources
(not people!)
• Brand expansion
Corporate Firewall
Disadvantages
Content Editors Content Editors • Provisioning required

10. Customer lessons
• Don’t Hurry
– Think about things
• Understand how it works
– Little details matter – especially with Azure
– Be careful with 3rd party components
• Learn Azure
– Keep up with news
• Azure is stateless
– Complex Web applications aren’t stateless
– Azure goes against current web architecture

11. Q&A

12. Thank you!
E-mail: thomasr@kentico.com
Twitter: trobbins
Blog: http://devnet.kentico.com/Blogs/thomas-robbins.aspx

13. Business Perspective
• 30+ total sites running in Windows Azure, using SQL
Azure
• Stacked instances (3, each hosting 5+ sites)
• Over 3/4 of production sites currently migrated to
Windows Azure
• Review of key applications
– Mydentity Custom Drum Kit
– Postage Ink
– Emerald Coast Autism Center
– RDF Associates
– CED Technical